Pittsburgh G-20 Student Summit

Last week, I attended the Pittsburgh G-20 Student Summit at
Fox Chapel. The goal of the summit was to educate the students on world affairs and the upcoming G-20 Summit. More importantly, the goal was to allow students to discuss the issues together and give real life solutions to these real life problems. Schools from around Brazil, Italy, South Africa, and Georgia participated via web cast reaching a total of about 1,000 students participating.

At the beginning of the Summit, we heard from Dr. Sky Foerster (President of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh), Mr. Steven Clemons (Director of American Strategy Program), Dr. Juan Delgado (Chief Economist for the Spanish National Commission for Competition), and Mr. David Shorr (Program Officer of The Stanley Foundation). The speakers discussed what they viewed as being important for the country right now and the importance of this Student Summit. After the keynote speakers, we went to our breakout sessions for a policy scenario discussion.

I, personally, was in the France group. We discussed which topic (economic, environment, or energy) was at the top of the list of importance for France. It was strange because we could not think through an American perspective. We thought globally. We asked ourselves: what is France's main priority? This was the hardest part for me because I am so set on thinking nationally. I literally had to think outside of the box.


The most intriguing part of the summit was probably when we heard what the students from Brazil, Italy, South Africa, and Georgia thought about global issues. We connected to the students via web cast and could see them and hear what they had to say. It astounded me that technology can allow us to do this and to be in the same room with these people yet thousands of miles away. The students on the stage who were seated behind the screens and could not see them moved to the front of the stage to see the students from around the world. The experience was truly amazing.

I would just like to thank The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and all involved for putting on this intriguing summit. This opened my mind to world affairs and I will never forget discussing global issues with students around the world. Thank you.

Now, my question for you is: To all who attended this summit, or watched via web cast, what did you think? How was the experience for you? What was your favorite part and which issue struck you as being the most important?

Below is a video posted by The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh on the G-20 Student Summit and you can check out their website (http://www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org/) to find out more about it.